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Thank You LinkedIn – Here’s My Take

Here’s my take on the “Thank You” LinkedIn email that’s flooding the inbox of millions of its members. I can count on one hand the number of companies that I do business with that say “Thanks” in a prominent way over the past year…five…out of hundreds. 

It’s easy for digital types to play “see the forest through the trees” and attach whatever point (snarky, analytical, or sincere) to this 1%, 5%, and 10% email campaign – because they’re a massively prevalent digital company in our lives.

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A company thanked me for their success  – Bravo. Is it a $50 off servicing my car at Volvo…no. But I just named two of the five companies that prominently said “Thanks” to me this year. 

Is there a business rule behind saying “Thanks” to customers…sure.
Are many of us sharing this act of appreciation with one another…yup.

I understand that I roll with a skeptical bunch. So, it’s easy to see a company that would send a thank you note as nothing more than a cynical attempt at being sincere. And, I would never expect a “Thank You” email from LinkedIn to captivate a Svengali hold on my colleagues. 

But, if I were advising LinkedIn – with the goal to help make the company better – I would quickly identify that it’s the millions of people who post profiles on the site who are intrinsic to LinkedIn’s success.

I too would recommend that the company start ‘showing the love’ back to its network of members by deploying a smart and authentic laundry list of Simon Sinek, Tony Hsieh, Seth Godin (and more) – type customer engagement tactics and strategies – starting with an email similar to the 1%, 5%, and 10% that many of us have received – and treat folks who volunteer to post information on LinkedIn better than other guys (I’m talking about you Facebook…tell me again why I can’t move my Instagram photos posted on my page into other albums on my profile?).